Messages Across Time
by shantella1987
Summary: While making her first trip through the Dimension Cannon, Rose receives a message that helps steel her resolve to find the Doctor. Prequel to "New Beginnings".


**Re-uploading this as a response to a review from the lovely In Hiding who left me some really useful constructive criticism about how the timeline seems even more wibbly-wobbly than it should've been.**

 **Sorry to those who faved the original version, but I felt this needed to be done. It's mostly the same as before, but I've rearranged bits and added in more explanations as to when things are taking place and changed a few lines here and there to fill in what I felt was a gaping plot hole.**

 **Okay, 'nuff of my wittering on. I hope you enjoy the new and improved version of this story after I say that I still don't claim any ownership over Doctor Who. That's all the BBC.**

* * *

The Doctor staggered his way through the streets of London with the biggest headache he had in any of his lives. He knew he just left Elizabethan England and somehow while dealing with an invasion of Zygons (the details of how he did so he frankly couldn't recall, but he couldn't shake the feeling that a fez was involved somehow) he ended up marrying Queen Elizabeth I (and now her nickname didn't even suit her anymore thanks to him). He ran off right after saying the vow with the nagging feeling that the wedding guests were somehow significant, but he just couldn't remember who they were.

But at least he thought he at last solved the mystery as to why the Queen wanted his head when he took Martha to see Shakespeare. Blimey, he needed a cup of tea. He was getting the distinct impression that he was _really_ hungover. A rarity but it did happen sometimes. He scanned the streets around him to see if he could find a place that served a decent cuppa when he collided with someone. She was a petite woman with a surprisingly round face and very large brown eyes. She scooped an envelope off the ground and handed it to him.

"Sorry, I think you dropped this." She said in a Blackpool accent with a smile on her face. He stared at her for a moment. She looked so familiar but he couldn't place it. He then regarded the envelope she was holding.

"That's not mine. Sorry." He said evenly as he went to walk away.

"No really," The woman fell in step beside him and held it out to him again. "This is yours." He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply, but his eyes fell to the envelope she was holding and he involuntarily gasped. The envelope was addressed to him, but it didn't just have 'To the Doctor' written across its front. It was his _name_ written in very elegant Gallifreyan script. He snatched it out of the woman's hands.

"Where the hell did you get this? And who are you?" He ground out turning to face her fully. She smiled at him as she reached out and placed her hand on his arm.

"I'm a friend. I promise. Although in a few moments, you won't even remember my face. But the answer to your other question is… complicated."

"Well… then try un-complicating it."

"That letter tells you all you need." The Doctor looked down at the envelope in his hands and traced the swirls that made up his true name with his fingertips. He didn't even notice the woman had run off leaving him to his very confused thoughts. He placed the envelope in the breast pocket of his brown pinstriped jacket and made his way back to the TARDIS.

All thoughts of his pounding headache and the mysterious brunette were swiftly forgotten as he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. He plonked himself down in the jump seat and began to read. A smile played about his lips when he realised what this letter contained. He finished reading and jumped up with a renewed sense of energy and ran to his workroom to grab a few items and returned to the console room. Carefully setting the items aside for the moment he stood in front of the time rotor. Taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts he activated the holographic recorder.

"Hi Rose."

* * *

The world was spinning around her. Travelling by Dimension Canon was a lot harder on the body than she imagined it would be. Rose whipped her arm out blindly to see if she could steady herself, and to her relief it came to rest on a wooden door. She blinked as she tried to clear her vison. Her head felt like it was trying to rip itself in two and she felt her lunch ready to leave her stomach. And at that thought, it did. The act actually helped a tiny bit as the nausea left almost as quickly as it came. She looked back to the wooden door her hand rested on and noticed the colour; blue. She looked even further up and saw windows and a black sign with white lettering.

 **POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX**

Her heart leapt at the sight. Her first trip through the Dimension Canon and she found the TARDIS. She smiled and felt like jumping for joy. Instead, she promptly passed out.

* * *

The Doctor had seen some crazy things that day, and that included an eleven-foot-tall dancing alien lizard wearing a tutu running around London in 2008. But nothing could top seeing the blonde girl in a blue leather jacket lying unconscious behind the TARDIS. Clara had seen her first and rushed over to her side. She winced at the sight of vomit on the ground next to her as she brushed her hair aside and checked for a pulse.

"She's okay. Probably just had too much to drink." Clara declared finishing her examination.

The Doctor stood shock still for a moment when he realised who it was lying behind his TARDIS. He'd been waiting for this day to come for over a thousand years. He felt like smiling, but knew he had to maintain his usual grumpy demeanor for Clara's sake.

"No. That's not like her at all." The Doctor said simply. Clara looked up at him and saw a far-away look in his blue eyes even as he looked down at the girl. "I say 'not like her at all', but there was this one time, and I thoroughly blame Harkness for that." Clara looked up at him with confused eyes.

"You know her?"

"Get inside the TARDIS, Clara and stay out of sight. Or go and find P.E. and have a date or whatever you humans do. This is something I need to deal with on my own." Clara stood and faced the Doctor fully, her mouth beginning to open to protest him dismissing her. "I mean it. I'll be fine. Just go. I'll find you when I'm done." Clara stood her ground.

"Doctor. Who. Is. She?" He pushed passed his very bossy companion and knelt down beside the blonde. Clara watched as he uncharacteristically reached out and smoothed her hair.

"She is about to wake up and be very confused about a great many things." He said softly. "These are things that only I can explain and it will be a lot simpler if I'm left alone to do it." Clara huffed. He was being more impossible than normal. But she didn't exactly feel like being yelled at by an angry Scotsman (or at least a Time Lord who sounded Scottish) today so she backed off.

"Fine. I'll go for a swim or something." Clara entered the TARDIS and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Rose could feel the hum of the TARDIS inside her head as she began to regain consciousness. The hum changed pitch in what she knew was a greeting as she slowly began to open her eyes, fully expecting to see the familiar coral columns she was so accustomed to and a tall man with really great hair standing nearby ready to take her up in his arms.

But that is not who or what she saw.

She was definitely inside the TARDIS but almost every surface was made of gleaming metal. There were more controls surrounding the central column and on top of the time rotor there was a spinning display of Gallifreyan writing. There was a short staircase leading up to a balcony lined with old fashioned bookshelves and chalkboards that contrasted sharply with the futuristic space age-tech that filled the rest of the room. She looked around in vain for the Doctor, but instead saw someone different. He was tall and thin but had a shock of grey hair. He had piercing blue eyes under a pair of fearsome eyebrows. He looked older as his face was covered in lines. As she gazed at his features, she felt for a moment that she saw something more. The colour of his eyes reminded her so much of the leather clad Doctor she met. The way his left eyebrow was crooked up reminded her of the Doctor she was trying so hard to find. There was also something in the way he was dressed. He wore navy blue frock coat over a matching waistcoat and crisp white dress shirt. The bright red lining of his coat was clearly shown by the way he held it open so he could stuff his hands into the pockets of his charcoal grey trousers. Then it dawned on her. It was so obvious! With fashion sense like _that_ she wasn't seeing someone different!

"Doctor?" She asked, her voice nearly a whisper. The man just smiled at her.

"Rose Tyler." He replied. Before she even realised she told her body to move she found herself clinging to him in a fierce hug. The sound of a double heartbeat against her ear was all the confirmation she needed that this was indeed the Doctor. _Her_ Doctor.

The Doctor staggered back as Rose flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. He wasn't a hugger in this regeneration and for a moment his arms just flailed around uselessly. Then his brain kicked in as he realised that he'd been waiting for this for so long. He sighed as he broke one of his rules. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. As he held her in his arms, be begun to question why he even had a thing against hugging to begin with. After a long moment he felt her reluctantly pull away. He watched her take another good look at her surroundings.

"You've redecorated." She said thoughtfully.

"Let me guess: you don't like it." He stated matter-of-factly. She responded with that brilliant smile that always made his hearts melt.

"Weeeell…" She drew out the vowel in an imitation of how he used to speak. "It's alright. Though, I do miss those columns. And speaking of things being alright: how about you? You've regenerated again." The Doctor smiled in spite of himself.

"Yes. I suppose you could call me the new new new new Doctor." Rose mentally counted how many times he said 'new' and he caught the confused look on her face. "You missed my giant chin, floppy hair, lack of eyebrows and any fashion sense. I had a strange addiction to bowties and funny hats. Kind of embarrassing actually. I couldn't keep that pinstriped suit you fancied. Jacket wouldn't fit anymore… ripped my trousers to shreds having to literally climb out of the TARDIS and I had an unfortunate incident that included my tie and a car door."

Rose laughed imagining that scenario. Her poor, poor Doctor always getting into scrapes.

"And your accent… you're Scottish now!" Rose pointed out. The Doctor grinned again.

"Helps out when I _really_ have to complain about things."

"Like that's ever stopped you before." The Doctor grinned even wider and even found himself laughing. Genuinely laughing. He couldn't remember doing that before in this body. It was just the effect Rose had on him it seemed. And that's because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he really and truly lo-

No.

He couldn't finish that thought. A couple regenerations ago he could say it, and very nearly did despite running out of time or letting a duplicate version of himself say it instead. His hearts broke all over again as he remembered what he needed to do.

"Rose, how long have you been using the dimension cannon to try and get back here?" He asked in a much more serious tone. She gaped at him realising she hadn't even told him _how_ she had managed to find him.

"This was my first jump. Why? What's wrong?"

"This isn't the right time for you to find me." He watched as she took a step back. He could tell that her heart was breaking all over again.

"But I made it." She took a shaky step back towards him again. She reached out to take his hand, but he stepped away.

"Rose, listen to me carefully: it's been well over a thousand years for me since I've seen you last. And in that time, I've wanted nothing more than to have you here with me."

"But, I'm not?" Rose asked, her voice tight with emotion. He shook his head.

"I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen as it's still in your future. But know this: you _will_ find me again. The _me_ you lost, with the ridiculous hair and sandshoes." Rose smiled at the prospect, but it quickly faded as he continued his explanation. "However, things will not go as you expect them to, and you'll need to make a choice."

"What sort of choice?"

"Spoilers." He warned wagging his bony finger at her. "But in the meantime…" The Doctor whirled around and pressed a sequence of buttons on the console.

" _Hi Rose."_ She heard a voice behind her. _His_ voice. Rose spun around and gaped at what she saw. It was the Doctor she knew. _"If this message has been activated, that means my future self has done his job correctly… or…_ her _job. Tricky thing, regeneration… always a lottery."_ He shrugged, _"Anyways, good job future me. Now Rose listen as this is important. Right now I know you're travelling between universes to get back to me, and you will get back I promise, and somehow you've ended up on my TARDIS from the future. It seems that you finding it was a complete fluke, but it does present me with a unique opportunity to help you. Don't just keep locking onto the TARDIS with the Dimension Cannon, because as you can see it's a bit random. Instead, focus on finding an absolutely brilliant woman called Donna Noble. I know you have the means of analysing timelines, and I know when you analyse hers you'll see that it's the key to getting back to me._

" _It's not going to be easy, Rose. You have a very difficult journey ahead of you. But you're clever and I…"_ Even though he was only an image, Rose could see his smile crumble and for the briefest of moments a look of pure heartbreak crossed his features. She wanted to gather him in her arms, but he was still just a damn image. Then his smile was back. A sad smile but a smile nonetheless. _"I have faith in you, Rose Tyler. You're the only one I've ever truly believed in. I know you can do it. I've put together a little gift for you that my future self should be holding for you, but it won't open until the time is right. So no peeking!"_ He tried to keep his voice stern and even waggled his finger at her (right in front of her face like he knew exactly where she was standing) but there was a playful glint in his eye. _"Keep it safe in your possession and don't let_ anyone _know you have it. Not even me when you see me again. You'll know when you can show me._

" _Oh, and when I see you again… don't be afraid to ask me how that sentence was going to end."_ His smile waivered again slightly and his voice hitched as he continued. _"I miss you so very much. I can't wait to see you again, Rose Tyler…"_

Rose fought a losing battle against the tears that were threatening to fall down her face as his image faded away. She felt the older Doctor place his hand on her shoulder and she turned and fell into his waiting arms. He just held her until her tears subsided and she was able to compose herself. He reached into his pocket and retrieved the gift his younger self was talking about. He held it out to her and she picked it up. Turning it over in her hands she saw it was a small metal cube covered in Gallifreyan writing on all but one of its sides. On the side she determined to be the top there was an elegant rose engraved in the metal. Her fingers traced the outlines of the flower and she found herself once again fighting back tears.

"How… how was that sentence supposed to end?" She couldn't look him in the eye when she asked the one question she wanted answered for nearly two years. She heard him let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm not the one you should be asking." He said simply. "Remember: it has been over a thousand years for me." Rose nodded and felt her heart sink a little. She played with the cube in her hands finding she still couldn't make eye contact. She watched as the Doctor's hand reached out and stilled hers. "But if I could tell you now, be assured that it would be the same words I was going to say back then. And they are _exactly_ the words I hope you wanted to hear." Rose looked up at him again.

"But you can't say them?" The Doctor shook his head.

"No. But if you hurry up and go back to looking for me, well… then you'll hear it from, well, me." He chuckled mirthlessly realising he was dropping back into his old speech pattern slightly. Rose nodded as she reached into her pocket to gather her controls for the dimension cannon. The Doctor eyed the device and got an idea. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

"May I?" He gestured towards the device in her hands. She handed it to him and watched as he activated the now green sonic screwdriver and waved it over her device for a few moments. "There. Now it's set to track down Donna. Remember what I said: she's the key to all this."

"Who is she?" The Doctor smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Spoilers." Rose blinked.

"What?"

"I can only give you her name. If I tell you too much it could cause a disruption in the causal nexus."

"The what?"

"No idea," he shrugged. "Just made it up." Rose laughed at that. Despite changing his face, other things never change. He handed her back the dimension cannon controls.

"I guess it's time for me to go then?" The Doctor nodded.

"I'd offer you safe travels if I didn't know you so well. Just try not to be more jeopardy friendly than normal."

"No promises." She regarded the small cube in her other hand once more before placing it securely in her pocket. "Thank you, Doctor… for everything." She bit her lip as she looked upon his older looking features. He didn't look like the daft alien she fell in love with, but she knew that he was still him. She pulled him into one last hug, and felt her heart melt a little when he squeezed her back. She pulled out of his embrace and stood up straight.

"I refuse to say 'goodbye', so you're gonna have to settle for 'see you soon.'." The Doctor said sternly. Rose nodded.

"See you later, Doctor." She pressed the button on the device in her hands and a blue light began to envelop her. "I love you."

And with that, Rose Tyler disappeared.

The Doctor stared at the spot Rose had just occupied for a long moment. Seeing her again did his hearts good. He refused to be sad. Enough time had passed for him to accept the fact that she was gone from his life forever, and he knew that the contents of the box he gave her would ensure she would have a happy life with his half-human twin in the other universe.

But now came the fun bit. He still needed to tell past him to record that message and get the cube ready. Then he remembered the mysterious brunette who handed him a letter all those years ago and it all made sense.

He walked over to his desk and pulled out some stationary.

"Clara, I know you've been spying on me. Come on out. I've a job for you."

* * *

 **Continued in my other story: New Beginnings.**


End file.
